Role Delineation Study 2015

Role Delineation Studies are done by PMI to determine what really needs to be covered in PM certifications. These RDS result in the PMP Exam Content outline.  The previous version was released in Aug 2011 (and was aligned with PMBOK 4 at that time). PMBOK 5 was released in Dec 2012 and PMP / CAPM exams were updated in Aug 2013 to align with PMBOK 5. However, the PMP Exam Content Outline was “not” updated at that point. It was only updated in June 2015 (nearly 2 years later).
Many think the PMP exam is based on the PMBOK.  This is not true.  Rather it is based on the PMP Exam Content Outline, the latest edition of which was released in June 2015 as a result of the recent role delineation study. There are many topics in the PMBOK Guide that are not included in the PMP Exam Content Outline and vice versa. PMI said that 25% of the exam questions will change. However, this does not mean that 25% of your study material will change. The impact to course materials and the current test is not that drastic.
Project Stakeholder Management was a new Knowledge Area added in PMBOK 5 (it was not in PMBOK 4). This has now been included in content outline of June 2015. As you can see, the content outline of June 2015 was simply “catching up” with PMBOK 5. The whole Stakeholder Management area is already covered in most PMP exam prep material. So, it’s not new. Several new areas of focus were listed and may account for the 25% of new questions. The following topics are new or have added emphasis in the June 2015 content outline:
Benefits realization
Process Analysis techniques like Lean and Kanban
Regulatory and environment impacts assessment
Project quality best practices and standards (e.g., ISO, BS, CMMI, IEEE)
Performance measurement techniques (KPI and key success factors)
Business acumen
Customer satisfaction metrics
Delegation techniques
Emotional intelligence
Expert judgment technique
Generational sensitivity and diversity
Knowledge management
Lessons learned management techniques
Meeting management technique